Skepticism jeopardizes fledgling police foundation

Saturday

Dec 28, 2013 at 6:12 PM

Ian Cummings

In Omaha, the police foundation stepped in with support when an officer, the mother of four, died of cancer. In New York City, the police foundation spent thousands beefing up computer equipment to process crime data. And in Palm Beach, the police department's foundation collects donations to offer university scholarships to officers' children.

More than 200 police foundations across the country, nonprofits run by private citizens and embraced by the rank and file, do similar work, generally without controversy.

Not so in Sarasota, where a new police foundation was blasted as a potential “slush fund” and a “can of worms” for Sunshine Law entanglement.

In the face of such criticism, the fledgling foundation's leaders plan to look to the Sarasota City Commission next month for political support. Organizers of the Sarasota Police Foundation, Inc., have said they may shelve plans for the nonprofit if it is not backed by city leaders.

Unveiled earlier this month, the foundation, which is meant to support the Police Department through grants and private donors, immediately drew fire. First Amendment advocates suggested it should be open to public scrutiny, and Mayor Shannon Snyder questioned why the department sought out a private stream of funding. Since then, the city attorney has said it is still unclear if the foundation would be subject to Sunshine Law.

Most police foundations and similar nonprofits are not, and many foundations around the country tout their success in providing equipment and training that city budgets cannot pay for.

But executives from some of the nation's largest police foundations say they can function only if they are embraced by city leaders.

Pamela Delaney, a retired president of the New York City Police Foundation, said such controversies are rare. Of more than 200 police foundations around the U.S., including several in Florida, she could not recall any being derailed over the concerns raised here. But, she said, these foundations require a certain amount of political goodwill.

“It's not an easy thing to create,” she said. “You have to make sure all of the stakeholders are on board.”

In Sarasota, there are doubts about who is on board. The foundation is scheduled to make its case publicly at the Jan. 6 City Commission meeting.

“Otherwise, the foundation will not stand a fighting chance, and the corporate shell will have to be put back on ice for another five years, awaiting the day when the idea may get a warmer reception,” said Sarasota attorney Dan Bailey, representing the foundation.

There will be at least some support from City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell, who noted that the Police Department requires a huge chunk of the budget each year, and always needs more. “I just think this is something we need to move forward with,” Atwell said. “My concern is that it's being nipped in the bud without any discussion.”

City Attorney Bob Fournier has already advised commissioners that it is possible, but far from certain, that the Sunshine Law would apply to the police foundation because of its connection to the Police Department.

“I think people were jumping to conclusions,” Fournier said. Much depends on the relationship between the department and its nonprofit supporter, he said, which so far exists mainly on paper.

A press conference earlier this month unveiling the foundation may have left the wrong impression, Fournier said. After Police Chief Bernadette DiPino appeared with Valerie Pober, her friend and the new executive director for the foundation, some thought that the police chief controlled the foundation. DiPino has since issued statements saying that she does not lead the foundation and that it is separate from the police department.

Bailey will try to further clarify that relationship for commissioners next month. The foundation is still under the control of board members who organized it in 2008, when it failed to take off and lay dormant until now. Pober has volunteered to serve as executive director but has not yet assembled a board of directors, and though she has received donations, she won't be able to deposit them into a bank account for the foundation until a new board is in place.

Since the foundation was announced publicly, two candidates for the board have withdrawn their names from consideration, and Pober said she was holding off on making board appointments until the foundation's future is clearer.

Pober was surprised that the police foundation was met with suspicion, she said, and thought it made sense that DiPino would reach out to her as a supporter. “It's really not a new concept to hit the planet,” she said. “I'm a concerned citizen; I'm not on anyone's payroll.”

Delaney, the former New York City Police Foundation president, said she thought the Sarasota group ought to be able to allay concerns if it appointed a qualified board and followed best practices. The “slush fund” charge, she said, was often leveled at foundations but almost never became reality.

Delaney said she was impressed with Pober when they met at a police foundation conference in Philadelphia earlier this year. “She asked a lot of questions,” Delaney said. “She was very much interested in making sure all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed. And not everyone does that.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.